"C# has been a language with a mixed history but precise goals. Although the C# language definition is for some time an ISO standard, only a part of the Base Class Library, which contains the fundamental functions that are used by all C# programs (IO, User Interface, Web services, etc) is also standardized. Parts of the BCL have been patented by Microsoft, but that has not deterred developers from attempts at implementing the components that are standardized, in various forms (Mono and affiliated projects). What happens when you go beyond that? What happens when outside the language, you start to implement not a mere application platform, but an entire operating system around it? Brace yourselves, because there is not only Microsoft Research who has done this with Singularity, but at least two other projects doing the same; and they are doing this under opensource terms. A system based around a C# Kernel. In this article, we are looking at one of the two, Cosmos by asking Scott Balmos and Chad Hower about the project they are involved in."
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Member since:2006-01-06
Member since:2007-04-29
exactly, an high level assembly it is. people are switching to managed languages because the cpu power/memory is there and it shortens development time a lot. it's obsolete because for the really low level stuff you use assembler and for the high level stuff c#/java or something like that.
the performance gain/longer development time you get from using c compared to c# (or comparable) is nearly never justifiable.
the only reason c is around is because of legacy code or stubborn coders, not because it's the best language for the job.
(yes, i'm generalizing, please don't start showing me the one exception you can think of)
Member since:2006-02-05
I am not trolling. C was a great language in its time, C++ was a hack that kinda brought it up to date, but both are very niche languages nowadays. What managed languages give in stability and security more then makes up for the relatively minor hit taken in performance, especially on todays systems.
It is the same shift that happened years ago from ASM to C. Eventually machines hit a point where it is almost universally a better choice to have the compiler take care of certain kinds of things for you.
Member since:
2006-02-05
The problem is that C and C++ are obsolete languages that are a pain to work with. Thats like saying why use python when we have a perfectly good fortran?
And mono is a complete and viable solution for non-windows operating systems. If you don't think it is, I seriously doubt you have ever used it.